The days dedicated to carrying out the national exercise of the Regional Mobile Column of the Calabria Fire Brigade have ended which saw men and vehicles operating in a virtual key but also with field activities in the province of Crotone as well as in the municipality of Cerzeto (CS)
From 11 to 13 December, in fact, the Fire Brigade was engaged in an exercise concerning the mobilization of the regional mobile column device of the Calabria Fire Brigade, i.e. the operational device of the national Fire Brigade, capable of bringing together in emergency cases, operational resources, including specialist ones, from territories not affected by critical issues towards the area defined as the “emergency crater”.
The operational moment saw the use of many specializations of the National Corps, involved the carrying out of specific maneuvers in the field, as well as the activation of the command and control system between the various territorial levels and between the various operational rooms.
In the square in front of the Ezio Scida stadium, in the city of Crotonemade available by the municipal administration which did not fail to provide precious support during the organization and implementation of the exercise, in addition to the “base camp” necessary to ensure adequate logistical support for the rescuers engaged in the field, the mobile operations room of the Regional Command of Area C (CRA) from where, in connection with the National Operations Center of the National Fire Brigade in Rome, at the Viminale building, 450 units from the various regions of Italy to deal with over 200 requests for intervention from the territory affected by the simulated disaster.
The hypothesized event was a flood, having as historical reference in terms of rainfall falling to the ground, the rainfall phenomena actually recorded on 14 October 1996 in the municipal area of Crotone.
Software and applications for the management and mapping of rescue interventions in the emergency area were tested within the Affected Area Regional Command (CRA). The CRA was located in a heavy vehicle specially conformed to the purpose based on a project idea developed by the Regional Directorate.
Within the CRA, the units dedicated to Emergency Communication have created, together with the units belonging to the Remotely Piloted Air Service (RPAS), direct streaming of rescue operations, produced photo/video material and managed relations with the bodies of the press who attended on site.
At the entrance to the city of Crotone, four centers have been set up for the collection and sorting of emergency vehicles actually coming from the five provincial commands and from the Regional Fire Brigade Directorate of Calabria.
To carry out the exercise, a total of around 200 fire brigade units were employed in the field, using specific equipment and operational practices and over 80 vehicles in the various contexts.
Among the hypothesized operational scenarios it is worth mentioning the one which involved the recovery and subsequent transport to a safe area of two motorists who, due to heavy rains, had been transported by the waters of the Esaro river to the Gabelluccia bridge located near the Gravina school, and there they were stuck, injured, in their car.
Another hypothesized critical “situation” concerned the recovery and subsequent transport of the body of a fisherman to a safe area which, due to the rise in the water level of the Neto river and the strong existing current, was transported near the bulkheads of the iron bridge in the locality. Timpa del Salto del Brigante between the Municipality of Belvedere Spinello (KR) and the Municipality of Santa Severina (KR) and there it remained stuck between shrubs, also dragged by the water. The simulated operation also carried out a partial removal of the materials accumulated near the bridge, in order to avoid a “dam effect”.
A third scenario envisaged the hypothesis of a major landslide phenomenon triggered by the intense meteorological phenomena recorded.
The operational context was “designed” for reasons of opportunity in Cavallerizzo, a hamlet of the municipality of Cerzeto, Calabrian municipality in the province of Cosenza and which in fact was completely affected by a landslide in 2005 so much so that it was abandoned and constituted a natural “technical training ground” where training activities could be carried out for operators specialized in search and rescue in urban areas (Urban Search and Rescue – USAR). The municipal administration of Cerzeto immediately made itself available to allow the training activities to be carried out on the field.
A distinct exercise moment involved the Italian Red Cross and the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Crotone who supported the staff of the “Gianvincenzo Gravina” Linguistic and Musical High School located in Crotone, in an area hypothesized to be flooded, and where the operation was carried out. an evacuation, also giving the opportunity to test the emergency plan that the employer structure of the school complex had drawn up based on the provisions of Legislative Decree 81/2008 regarding safety and health in the workplace.